It's still a month away, but Wallenpaupack's Bridgette Mann and her teammates have one focus in mind.

"Honestly, our whole team is getting pumped up because we want another shot at the district title this year," the junior midfielder said. "During games, it's the one thing that crosses my mind.

"We played Abington Heights for the district title last year, but for some reason we just collapsed."

A year later, the Lady Buckhorns are unbeaten, leading the Lackawanna League's Division II and hopefully are a little more familiar with what it takes to win a district title.

They can thank the handful of players who experienced the basketball team's run to its first district title a year ago.

"It definitely is a plus, having that under our belts," Mann said. "We know what to expect, the pressure of that game. You can't let your emotions get the best of you. You have to keep your composure."

So far, that hasn't been a problem. The team hasn't allowed a goal, and Mann has netted eight tallies, a hefty total for a player that her coach doesn't consider a goal scorer.

"If I hear goal scorer, I think Nicki (Mann)," Wallenpaupack coach Alicia Sodano said of Bridgette's older sister. "Bridgette is very unselfish. I told her she has to take people on."

Against Honesdale, she followed her coach's advice, dribbling through three players to score.

"The want is there," Sodano said. "She wants to help the team in every sense. If she could, she'd rather to have the assist.

"She's overall just the most coachable player I've ever had. She's always asking questions. She always wants to be better in what she does. She's never content being where she's at."

Doesn't matter where Sodano puts her on the field. She leaves nothing on the pitch, and her teammates respect that.

"She's one of our captains and I have eight seniors," Sodano said. "The coaches pick two captains and we had the team vote for two, and by far, Bridgette won the team vote."

Whether it's basketball, softball or soccer, Mann has that effect. She pulls people together.

"I see my role as someone who steps up and talks to them," Mann said. "I sometimes feel like an assist is more important because that goal never happens unless someone gets you the ball."

That kind of maturity is a gift that Sodano, herself a high school and collegiate star, can appreciate.

"She understands the game, which is a great asset," Sodano said. "What can I do to be better? What am I doing wrong? She takes what I give her and uses it.

"Bridgette and I have a definite connection. During school, she comes to talk to me and soccer is always on her mind during the season. Who are we looking at? What do we need to beat this team?"

And while a post-season meeting with Abington Heights is far from a done deal, it's a rematch the Lady Buckhorns would relish.

"I think I can speak for the team when I say a district championship is something we expect this year," Mann said. "We have to take it one game at a time. You don't get there unless you play 100 percent.

"But at the end of every game, that's one more. We're one step closer."

Contact the writer: mmyers@timesshamrock.com @mmyersTT on Twitter

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